Castro Welcomes the Carters

HAVANA —  Flashing his trademark smile, Jimmy Carter arrived in Cuba on Sunday and became the first U.S. president--in or out of office--to visit this communist country since the 1959 revolution that put Fidel Castro in power.

Dressed in a dark suit, Castro, 75, greeted Carter, 77, at the airport with a handshake and symbolically threw open the doors of the island to the former American head of state.

Castro said Carter could speak with anyone, “even if they do not share our endeavors,” an obvious reference to human rights groups. He also said Carter could go anywhere--including Cuban scientific centers, which U.S. officials recently claimed could be working toward making biological weapons.

Carter said he and his wife, Rosalynn, had traveled here as friends of the Cuban people and hoped to meet many during their five-day stay. Carter reminded Cubans that he would be addressing them on live television Tuesday.

After their private jet arrived at 10:45 a.m., the Carters were escorted by Castro down a red carpet. With the Cuban and U.S. flags flying side by side, the couple stood at attention for the Cuban and American national anthems.

“It is no secret that for almost a century there have not been optimal relations between the two states,” Castro told Carter. “However, I wish to state that in the four years of your tenure as president, you had the courage to make efforts to change the course of those relations. That is why those of us who were witnesses to that attitude see you with respect.”

Reading his address in Spanish, Carter said he looked forward to meeting with Castro, as well as “representatives of religious groups and others to examine the ideas that are important for Rosalynn and me,” including peace, human rights, democracy and the easing of human suffering.

As president from 1977 to 1981, Carter helped reestablish diplomatic missions in both countries and negotiated the release of thousands of political prisoners. He also made it possible for Cuban exiles to visit relatives on the island and, for a short time, for other Americans to travel here freely.

But a U.S. trade embargo is still in place after four decades and relations are as chilly as ever.